Ayahuasca saturates global consciousness, a US Senator suggests amending federal marijuana laws, and the "Hobbit" film suggests a positive view of drugs in this week's psychedelic news.

Research presented at the annual meeting of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology highlighted the latest findings on the use of psilocybin as a treatment for anxiety in terminal cancer patients, in smoking cessation, and as a treatment for alcoholism. (TIME)

The UK government has based its refusal to set up a royal commission into drug policy on the shaky premise that drug use is falling. (Guardian)

New Scientist interviews Amanda Feilding about her work to break down taboos surrounding LSD and other psychoactive drugs. (New Scientist)

An indigenous healer faces prison in Sweden for receiving San Pedro cactus in the mail, despite the fact that San Pedro is actually legal in Sweden. (AlterNet)

The New York Times reports that marijuana is virtually legal in most of California even though recreational use remains technically against the law. (NY Times)

Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy from Vermont has suggested amending the Federal Controlled Substances Act to allow possession of up to one ounce of marijuana in jurisdictions where it is legal under state law. (Huffington Post)

The first Canadian study of MDMA therapy for trauma survivors begins January 1. (National Post)

Rolling Stone argues that a meager settlement deal with the British banking giant HSBC, which has admitted to laundering billions of dollars of drug money, demonstrates the hypocritical nature of the war on drugs. (Rolling Stone)

The Drug Policy Alliance ran a full-page ad in the New York Times thanking voters in Colorado and Washington for their support of drug policy reform and marijuana legalization. (Drug Policy Alliance)

Los Angeles witnessed a major court victory for parents who legally use marijuana for medical purposes. The court confirmed that while parents who abuse drugs can lose custody of their children, medical marijuana use does not constitute drug abuse. (NORML)

Nine states have a lifetime ban for food-stamp eligibility for people convicted of drug felonies, including marijuana offenses, and twenty-three states have a partial ban. (AlterNet)

Lab results cleared a man who was arrested on drug charges at the 2012 Rainbow Gathering in Tennessee. Although law enforcement claimed he was transporting $90,000 worth of met amphetamine, liquid THC and other drugs, he was cleared of all charges after lab tests revealed he possessed no controlled substances. (Times News)

"This Week in Psychedelics" is a Reality Sandwich column that follows
the multifaceted media appearances of this class of chemicals and their
effects in popular culture. Share your psychedelic news links on the facebook page and twitter or by emailng nese /at/ realitysandwich.com

Disclaimer: "This Week in Psychedelics" does not censor or analyze
the "news" links presented here. The purpose of this blog is to
catalogue how psychedelics are presented by the mass media, which
includes everything from the latest scientific research to
misinformation. This presentation format encourages an open dialogue,
and allows for misinformation to be noticed and addressed by interested
and informed parties. We provide the content; you provide the analysis
and debate

Facebook Comments

About the Author

Contributing Editor. Nese Devenot, MA is a doctoral candidate studying psychedelic philosophy in the Program in Comparative Literature and Literary Theory at the University of Pennsylvania. She is the founder of the Psychedemia psychedelics conference.